Since he got his start in Hollywood nearly 40 years ago, John Wells has averaged more successes per decade than most creatives accumulate over an entire career.

The prolific writer, director, producer and filmmaker’s latest feat is The Pitt , a real-time medical drama that spans one 12-hour emergency room shift in a 15-episode season. Reuniting Wells with former ER collaborators R. Scott Gemmill and Noah Wyle , the HBO Max procedural launched unexpectedly into the zeitgeist with its January premiere ­­— thanks in part to weekly drops (how novel!) that saw the audience quickly pass 10 million per episode. This is hardly Wells’ first time scrubbing in for TV. He cut his teeth writing on China Beach , then developed ER with the late Michael Crichton and created Third Watch .

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